WORK has started on preparing the site for two large nuclear power plants in Karachi. Each of these reactors will be larger than the combined power of all the nuclear reactors currently operating in Pakistan.

This will be by far the largest nuclear construction project ever in Pakistan. It is not too late to ask a few basic questions so that people, especially those living in Karachi, know what they may be letting themselves in for.

Everyone knows the new reactors are being purchased from China. They will be designed and built by the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).

What people may not know is that the reactors will be based on a design known as the ACP-1000 that is still under development by this Chinese nuclear power company. In effect, Pakistanis are buying reactors for the Karachi site that so far exist only on paper and in computer programmes — there is no operating reactor in China based on this design.

It was reported in April 2013 that the CNNC, the developer of the ACP-1000, had completed a “preliminary safety analysis report”, and was “working on construction design”.

This means so far there is not even a complete design. Since the new Karachi reactors will be the first of a kind, no one knows how safe they will be or how well they will work. The 20 million people of Karachi are being used as subjects in a giant nuclear safety experiment.

The Fukushima nuclear accident has shown that safety systems can fail catastrophically. The accident in 2011 struck Japanese reactors of a well-established design that had been operating for decades. Still, all kinds of things happened that were not expected by the reactor operators or managers or by nuclear safety authorities.

An important lesson of Fukushima is that nuclear establishments underestimate the likelihood and severity of possible accidents. Another important lesson is that these same establishments overestimate their ability to cope with a real nuclear disaster.

Nearly 200,000 people living close to the Fukushima reactors were evacuated and some may never be allowed to return. Radiation was blown by the wind and contaminated the land to distances of over 30 km.

The US suggested its citizens living in that area of Japan move at least 80km away from the reactor. The government of Japan considered forced evacuation of everyone living within 170km of the reactor site and organising voluntary evacuation for people living as far as 250km from the plant.

Contaminated food and water was found at distances of 250km.

The financial cost of the clean-up so far is estimated to be about $100 billion and could eventually be much higher.

So how big, how dangerous and how costly is the nuclear experiment about to be carried out in Karachi?

An analysis undertaken two years ago, in 2011, by the science magazine Nature and Columbia University in New York showed that the nuclear reactor site in Karachi has more people living within 30km than any other reactor site in the world.

It found that, in 2011, there were eight million Karachi citizens living within this distance of the reactor. All of Karachi falls within 40km of the reactor site.

So far, there have been no public hearings or discussions of the suitability of the site for the new Karachi reactors. There is no report of an Environment Impact Assessment for the proposed new Karachi reactors. Neither the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission nor the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority has explained what will happen in case of an accident at the proposed reactor.

A preliminary study by one of the authors found that the plume of radioactive material that could be released from a severe nuclear accident could be blown eastward by the wind over the city, engulfing the most populous areas of Karachi.

There is also no information on the terms for the supply of nuclear fuel, such as how long the very hot, intensely radioactive spent nuclear fuel will stay at the site and how will it be safely stored until it is returned to China, if it is returned at all. The spent fuel stored at Fukushima was damaged in the accident and led to the release of radioactivity.

Finally, there is no information on what emergency plans, including for possible evacuation, have been drawn up as part of preparing for these large new reactors. There is no information whether such plans even exist.

Here is a question for those in charge of Karachi, in charge of Sindh and the federal authorities in Islamabad: how do you propose to evacuate many millions of people from Karachi in case of a severe nuclear accident at the new reactors?

One expects mass panic, with people deciding to save themselves and their families as best as they could, clogging the roads, and delaying the escape of others closer to the reactor. Can any plan work in such an environment?

Finally, there is the cost in terms of money. Reports suggest the two reactors may cost $9-10 billion. They will be paid for by taking loans from China. There is little information on the details of the financing of the reactors, including the final cost of decommissioning and waste disposal.

There is not even a publicly available government study showing that these reactors are the least-cost option for producing the expected amount of electricity.

The issue of cost also must include the consequences of accidents. If there is an accident at the new Karachi reactors due to a problem with the reactor design or the construction, who will pay the vast sums needed to cover the damage and clean-up — Pakistan or China?

The people of Karachi have a right to know the answers to these questions. It is time they started asking.

The writers are physicists with an interest in nuclear issues.

Hakim Bey: Don't just survive while waiting for someone's revolution to clear your head
Napoleon Bonaparte: The world suffers a lot, not because of the violence of bad people, but because of the silence of good people!

build it at the sindh rajestan border; in light of the prevailiing wind patterns, not to mention good deterence to incursions from the east.

SWEET IS SLEEP TO ME AND EVEN MORE TO BE OF STONE,WHILE THE WRONG AND SHAME ENDURE.TO BE WITHOUT SIGHT OR SENSE IS A MOST HAPPY CHANGE FOR ME,THEREFORE DO NOT ROUSE ME. HUSH! SPEAK LOW. I said to God "I hate Life" God replied "Who asked you to love life? Just Love me & life will be beautiful" Living in favorable and unfavorable conditions is PART of living. Smiling in all those conditions is ART of living."Anytime you think you need to protect God, you can be sure you're worshiping an idol"

Maybe they are building them near Karachi because thats where the electricity is destined? But still it is quite a big risk in case of an accident. What if the reactor is attacked in case of war? The whole city of Karachi and Pakistan's financial center will be neutralized in one blow.

This is the flag of Islam, for you cannot separate the Muslim league from Islam. Many people misunderstand us when we talk of Islam, particularly our Hindu friends. When we say this flag is the flag of Islam, they think that we are introducing religion into politics, A FACT OF WHICH WE ARE PROUD. Islam gives us a complete code. It is not only a religion, but it contains laws, philosophy and politics. It contains everything that matters to a man from morning to night. When we talk of Islam, we take it as an all embracing word.

- Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah (11th January 1938)

Let us go back to our holy book, the Quran. Let us revert to the Hadeeth and the the great traditions of Islam which have everything in them for our guidance if we correctly interpret them and follow our great Holy book, the Quran.

- Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah (6th March 1946)

"It is my strong belief, that there is no ideology which is more democratic, enlightened and progressive than Islam."

Cooperation between China and Pakistan on nuclear energy is for exclusively peaceful purposes and in the interests of local people, said a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman on Monday.

China and Pakistan have cooperated on civilian nuclear energy for years, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily news briefing, with regard to construction of a nuclear power plant in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi.

"Such cooperation is entirely for peaceful purposes, in line with international obligations, and subject to the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency," she said.

The work helps to ease Pakistan's electricity shortage and is in the interest of local people. China will continue to provide assistance within its ability, Hua said.

Stressing that China attaches great importance to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, Hua said China cooperates with various countries in this regard on the premise of strict adherence to nonproliferation.

Construction of Pakistan's largest nuclear power project with the Chinese cooperation was launched in Karachi on Nov. 26. According to local media reports, the Coastal Power Projects K-II and K-III are designed to produce 2,200 megawatts of electricity when completed in November 2019.

Hoodboy and the other character are against Pakistan having any kind of nuclear technology, but they are perfectly fine with india having it.

Nuclear reactor always have safety concerns, no matter how safe the design is. What Pakistan need is the Thorium reactor but that technology is also in experimentation stage. China has acquired and master the nuclear technology. We have limited options.

Government of Pakistan needs to grow a spine and built coal power plants near Indian border.

Walk away if you want toit's ok, if you need toyou can run, but you can never hideFrom the shadow that's creeping up beside youThere's a magic running through your soulBut you can't have it all

The reason could be that karachi is a little away from the earth quack fault line which is going through out Pakistan.

▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼................Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow........................................Don't walk behind me, I may not lead............................................Walk beside me and be my friend.........................▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲

China has no operational plant of this specific design. Their 1000MW plants are being built by Russia and France. This a huge gamble by putting all eggs in one basket. They are foreseeing the start date for 2020, but with an experimental design, these dates can shift very quickly.

the best way to aviod a war is to be prepared for one.Pakistan Zindabad

The prime minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, announced this week that China would help build two nuclear power reactors in Karachi, a port city with chronic electricity shortages. The deal marks a big step in nuclear energy cooperation between China and Pakistan, but financing and other important parts of the project have yet to be settled. Here is an explanation:

What Reactors Does Pakistan Want?

The project calls for Chinese companies to help build two new models of ACP-1000 nuclear reactors in Karachi. The ACP-1000 reactor was developed by the China National Nuclear Corporation and can produce 1,100 megawatts of power.

Much of Pakistan is afflicted by blackouts, and many citizens have no electricity at all. Adding about 1,000 megawatts of power to the grid there could, in theory, supply enough electricity for more than two million households, according to the United States Agency for International Development’s estimates for its power projects in Pakistan.

“If Pakistan wants to grow its economy, it’s going to need stable base-load generation to supply industry, to get people to reinvest in industry, and in that, nuclear does make sense,” said Toby Dalton, the deputy director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He formerly led a Department of Energy office at the United States Embassy in Pakistan dealing with nonproliferation issues.

But he and other experts said that Pakistan would have to drastically improve its shaky and inefficient power distribution grid to make the best of this potential. “Before they can deal with this kind of power, they’re going to have to address their grid issues,” Mr. Dalton said. “Their grid is incredibly unstable now.”

What Is in It for China?

China has long been a close strategic partner of Pakistan, providing military equipment, diplomatic support and loans. China has already built two reactors at the Chashma nuclear site in Punjab Province, where it is also building two more. For China, the reactors planned for Karachi would help cement that alliance and also have a commercial rationale, as a showcase for the ACP-1000 reactor and other Chinese nuclear technology, said Andrew Small, a researcher with the German Marshall Fund of the United States, based in Washington, who is writing a book about Chinese-Pakistani relations.

No ACP-1000 reactors have been built, even inside China.

“It would be an important overseas project to see whether they would be able to sell it to other countries,” Mr. Small said.

He cited Chinese sources involved in dealing with Pakistan as saying: “It’s important. It’s going ahead, it needs to work, because it will be the proving case so that we can have other sales in the Gulf and elsewhere.”

Who Is Paying?

Pakistani and Chinese officials have said little about how the new reactors, estimated to cost about $9.59 billion in total, will be paid for. And unless China proves willing to provide very generous loans and financial backing, that price tag could still be a problem.

Mark Hibbs, an expert on nuclear policy at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who has closely followed the negotiations over the reactors, said money appeared to remain a sticking point.

“It has come down to the money apparently,” he wrote in emailed comments. “Pakistan wants to lower the cost of the project,” and it also “wants cost of services over the lifetime of the project to be lowered,” he wrote.

If China provides loans for the reactors, its companies are likely to seek generous returns for providing nuclear fuel and services for the reactor, and Pakistani officials might hesitate at that price, said Mr. Dalton.

“They’re in a situation now where I could understand that the Chinese would have a lot of leverage on the price, because there’s no one else that’s willing to sell, or interested in selling, to Pakistan,” he said. “That gives the Chinese more leverage in the services side of things as well.”

What Are the Concerns?

Large parts of Pakistan are beset by political instability and fighting with militants, but the country also has a nuclear arsenal and has refused to join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, as has its rival India, which also has a nuclear arsenal. Those safety and proliferation concerns have already fed misgivings about China’s nuclear cooperation with Pakistan. The two countries have said that their cooperation is entirely peaceful and comes under international safeguards through the International Atomic Energy Agency. Both countries have also pointed to the United States’ civilian nuclear energy agreements with India as a precedent justifying their own cooperation.

China is a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, whose member countries have agreed to subject their exports of nuclear technology and materials to rules meant to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. But China is likely to argue — despite intense skepticism from experts — that its nuclear projects in Karachi fall under an agreement that predates 2004, when it joined the group, meaning it does not have to seek approval from it.

Whatever their misgivings, the United States government and other members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group appear unlikely to try to put serious obstacles in the way of the Karachi nuclear deal, experts said. The group works by consensus decision-making and does not have teeth of a treaty to enforce its rules, the experts said.

“There isn’t a very clear mechanism to do a huge amount about it,” Mr. Small said. “The problem in this case is that if they accept it, it really is just then implicitly granting an exception for Pakistan,” he added. “If they allow it to go ahead, then they have created de facto a China-specific exception for Pakistan.”

China National Nuclear Corporation developed the third generation pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant ACP1000 preliminary design of the nuclear industry through a national authority identification.

Previously, the design has been peer-reviewed to determine with independent export conditions. First ACP1000 nuclear reaction will be built in Pakistan. Argentina and other countries also introduce the same type of equipment showed a great interest in, and with the relevant nuclear group launched a joint research.

ACP1000 using steam generator

April 22, 2013, according to "Economic Daily" reported that China National Nuclear Corporation has independently developed a complete independent intellectual property rights ACP1000 preliminary design of advanced PWR nuclear industry through a national authority identification. Experts agreed that the technical and safety indicators ACP1000 reached the same level of international third generation nuclear power plant design, construction to fully achieve independence.

AP1000 reactor cross sectional view of the structure

ACP1000 is China National Nuclear Corporation has independently developed a complete independent intellectual property rights advanced pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant. "A" represents the advanced, "C" on behalf of China, "P" on behalf of PWR reactor type, "1000" represents a unit capacity of one million kilowatts level. It is the nuclear reactor on the basis of the Group's CP1000 complete the design, the digestion and absorption of the introduction of the third generation nuclear power technology AP1000, learn from advanced international technology, advanced nuclear power concepts, give full consideration to the latest experience feedback after the Fukushima nuclear accident, according to the most advanced international regulations The standard requires the development of an independent intellectual property rights of third generation pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant.

China began in 1997 to develop the domestic one million kilowatts of nuclear power reactor project CNP1000, and in 1999 raised the overall program. But then the domestic research and development unit is busy absorbing the introduction of nuclear power technology, CNP1000 Development standstill. 2009, relying on the accumulation of China's nuclear power technology, renamed one million kilowatts of nuclear power plants developed CP1000 start again in April 2010, CP1000 completed the initial design, through peer China Nuclear Energy Association accreditation organization, has been recognized by the industry. March 2011 has fully complied with all conditions from the experimental to the project.

March 2011 after the Fukushima nuclear accident, in order to further enhance the level of domestic nuclear power and safety, Nuclear Group resolute decision to immediately re-layout of nuclear power technology research and development, the decision on the basis of CP1000, digestion and absorption of countries to introduce the third generation nuclear power technology AP1000, learn from advanced international technology, advanced nuclear power concepts, give full consideration to the latest experience feedback after the Fukushima nuclear accident, according to the most advanced international standards and regulations, to start their own nuclear ACP1000 of three generations of design.

AP1000 nuclear power plant concept map

Due to technical accumulation and long-term studies of up to 14 years, ACP1000 the research process very smoothly: March 2011 to August, just six months to come up with a top-level design. By the end of October 2011, transferred to the engineering design phase. By the end of 2012, to complete the preliminary design and preliminary safety analysis report prepared by the end of 2013 the project started with the first reactor conditions.

ACP1000 has three technical features: "177 core", "single stack layout" and "double containment" to further enhance security. Specifically, the core is the core of the entire nuclear power plant. ACP1000 reactor core uses a fuel assembly program group 177, the power generation technology can increase 5% to 10%, to improve the economy, but also reduce the power density within the core, to improve the safety of nuclear power plants. Single stack arrangement makes ACP1000 flexibility and adaptability in the site selection, power demand, the cost of investment and other conditions; double containment can withstand large commercial aircraft impact.

April 1, 2013 至 2, CNNC Nuclear Power Division of SIPO, China Nuclear Energy Industry Association and other industry experts held a "third generation nuclear power ACP1000 issues related to intellectual property and export analysis report" expert review meeting in Beijing. The experts believe that the nuclear group ACP1000 is currently three generations of independent export models. This cleared the way for the export of ACP1000 the final hurdle.

Previously, "Times of India" reported on April 19, Nuclear Group said its independent development of third-generation nuclear reactors ACP1000 has received its first foreign contract. Vice-nuclear group to the "China Daily" said that in Beijing by the assessment panel's ACP1000 reactor 19, 2009, at the end of this year to start construction will begin in a foreign country. However, he did not disclose the country will start construction. He said that this is the first export contract, more global cooperation in progress.

Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission visited the Fuqing nuclear power plant construction, the station crew will use ACP1000 5,6 reactor

"Times of India", said last month, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei confirmed the signing of China to build a 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant agreement with Pakistan. India says China has helped Pakistan build a nuclear power plant at Chashma 4 reactors, and promised to build one heavy reactor. Allegedly, the Chashma I and II reactors each with 300 megawatts of generating capacity, according to the previous plan, III and IV reactors will have 340 megawatts of generating capacity each. I and II reactors already in operation, III and IV reactors are expected to put into power in 2016. It is not clear this is a 1000-megawatt reactors Chashma fifth reactor, or the reactor will be built in Karachi.

In late June 2012, earlier, at the invitation of the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of Argentina, the general manager of CNNC Qian Zhimin led a delegation to visit Argentina, the Argentine brought to ACP1000 technology. Argentina Nuclear Power Company Nuclear Group is formally awarded ACP1000 technology through the prequalification certificate.

At present, China National Nuclear Corporation and the Argentine nuclear power companies, working on the Argentine Atomic Energy Commission Nuclear Group has ACP1000 using proprietary technology in the construction of new nuclear power projects in Argentina and related facilities to carry out joint research.

The supply will be linked to the national grid, priority will be given to industrial zones/cities.

For safety reasons, a nuclear reactor is almost always built closer to indefinite water supply. Location of Kahuta is a concern, for if an incident like Chernobyl takes place, they have no more than 5-7 days of water supply, and after that it becomes a Fukushima.

No matter where you build it, it will raise the concerns of India and IAEA. If it is solely for power generation we can easily pacify the Nuclear watchdogs. As for India, they will think 10 times before bombing it as the winds will carry the radiation into India in a matter of few hours. They will probably defend it against Israeli strikes as well.

Hakim Bey: Don't just survive while waiting for someone's revolution to clear your head
Napoleon Bonaparte: The world suffers a lot, not because of the violence of bad people, but because of the silence of good people!

Nuclear power is a wise economic investment assuming great deal of redundancy is built. But why is Pak going to china ? is it for pak benefit or china benefit? there are more established players such as france, russia etc.

Thorium reactors is a good idea on which india is working for decades. Maybe both can co-operate there it has no impact on weapns,

The concerns expressed in this article are valid. Why is the government allowing for an untested nuclear plant design, not even built in China. Also bypassing the provincial government they have violated the 18th amendment and are risking the lives of millions of Pakistanis. This smells of kickbacks. Nawaz Sharif never has looked out for the interest of other provinces and this deal looks like the result of that same mindset.

Experts believe that the China-funded project of setting up two nuclear plants on Karachi’s outskirts will be a disaster in the making as their designs are still on paper – not even the Chinese have built them in their country so far.

“Karachi is being subjected to an experiment,” nuclear physicist AH Nayyar said at a consultation titled “Impacts of Nuclear Power Projects (KII AND KIII) along the Coastal Areas” organised on Wednesday.

It was pointed out that the site evaluation report on the nuclear plants was grossly flawed in terms of estimates and this could result in an unimaginable disaster for the city.

“The report says that Karachi has a population of 10 million, however, the number has doubled in recent years,” said Nayyar.

“The designs of the plants are still on paper. Their safety and performance haven’t been assessed.”

It was also noted that that the location chosen for the two massive reactors, which would produce 1,100MW each, fell on seismic fault lines.

The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission in its evaluation report has chosen to underplay this fact, if not totally ignore it.

“If a Tsunami strikes, the chances of which cannot be overlooked, Karachi will have a Fukushima-like situation, which means radiation proliferation, in other words, human casualties at a massive level, as we know, Karachi has no emergency plan for a city of 20 million,” said physicist Pervez Hoodbhoy.

The speakers at the event warned that though Tsunami could be a once-in-a-decades possibility, the real danger lay in a mere technical error leading to a disaster, which could ultimately cause immense human and environmental loss.

“Chernobyl is an example,” said Hoodbhoy, “the disaster was so huge that it is estimated that between 8,000 and 24,000 people were affected by radiation and it continues to this day.”

Hoodbhoy further said that the need for energy could be fulfilled by other means, as countries like Japan (after the recent Tsunami incident), Germany and Switzerland had already decided to stop producing energy through nuclear power.

“Even India, despite the nuclear option made available by the US, is planning to shift its energy production towards wind and other alternatives. So the dangers associated with nuclear reactors are now taken seriously across the world,” said Hoodbhoy.

The experts also highlighted the adverse effects of a nuclear reactor on marine life which would go unaccounted for.

“The disposal of the reactors’ spent water would lead to unimaginable environmental problems for marine life and thus also the people living around the coastal areas whose livelihoods depend on that,” said Mohammad Ali Shah of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum.

“The people in the coastal areas were not taken into confidence and the government made decisions in a clandestine manner,” he said.

“The existing nuclear power plants - Chashma and Kanupp - are already posing a threat to lives and livelihoods. There is no study available to confirm a safe level. There is the threat of terrorists attacking nuclear plants which is not impossible in Karachi.”

Senior human rights activist Karamat Ali said the locals and the Sindh government were not taken into confidence before making the decision of building nuclear power plants in Karachi.

“This decision is a blatant violation of the 18th Amendment.”

Ali said Article 19-A of the Constitution provided the right to information. “This doesn’t mean that citizens should ask for information, but the government should ensure that the people’s point of view is sought and public hearings are held for such major projects.”

Ali said the Constitution also guaranteed the right to life. “This means that all possible dangers to human lives should be prevented and people are informed of those dangers.”

The rights activist said the possibility of corruption could not be ruled out in such deals. He alleged that somebody had already fetched a commission of around $700 million by giving approval to such projects.

“There should be a regional position on nuclear power in South Asian countries because other countries are also in the race to set up nuclear power plants.”

The consultation was jointly organised by civil society organisations including the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, the Pakistan Institute of Labour, Education and Research, ActionAid Pakistan and the Strengthening Participatory Organisation.

China is offering US $6.5 Billion funding for this project, that is the only incentive, plus we are in dire need of energy. Pakistan sits next to de-industrialization today. With other countries the work could stagnate before the project completes.

If any reactor is in danger today, that is Kahuta - life is almost over and barely any water supply to curtail emergency. At the time of construction that too was a new design wasn't it.

While Kanupp surpassed it's life, wasn't it the Chinese who gave life to Kanupp? That upgrade too was only on paper then.

Edited by Felicius, 09 January 2014 - 10:31 AM.

Hakim Bey: Don't just survive while waiting for someone's revolution to clear your head
Napoleon Bonaparte: The world suffers a lot, not because of the violence of bad people, but because of the silence of good people!

Ormara would have been a good place to build it. Pak has a naval base there (Turkish built). It is 250 Km west of Karachi, already linked to the coastal highway. The country needs at least 4 coastal cities: Karachi, Ormara, Pasni and Gwadar.

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) wants the government to take parliament and the nation into confidence on the issue of building of two nuclear reactors in Karachi reportedly with untested designs that can cause a fatal mishap.

The government is expected to come out with a policy statement on Thursday when the Senate will take up a “Call Attention Notice” moved by PPP’s Saeed Ghani on the subject, Dawn has learnt.

Through the notice, Senator Ghani has drawn attention of the government “to a matter of sufficient public importance regarding building of two new nuclear reactors in Karachi with a new and untested design, which can prove a safety threat” to millions of people living in the city.

Nuclear, environment and health experts have been voicing serious concerns in public over the government’s decision to invite Chinese firms to build two nuclear plants of untested design near Karachi.

The plants are projected to generate 1,200MW of electricity after completion.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Ghani said that people of Karachi were perturbed after watching debates on TV shows and different seminars and conferences about a possible threat to the city because of the proposed setting up of two nuclear plants with the help of China.

He said that though the officials of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) had declared these projects safe, nuclear experts had reportedly pointed out some serious flaws even in reports of the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority that included the site evaluation report, reactor safety report and the environmental impact assessment.

Mr Ghani said that there were serious concerns among the public over such reports due to the fact that Pakistan did not have the capacity and plan for mass evacuation in case of an accident.

The experts, including Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy and Dr A.H. Nayyar, in a recent seminar held in Islamabad said that the (model ACP-1000) plants were even not operational in China.

They warned that since fuel in the reactors would be in tons compared to only a few kilograms in a bomb, any accident could spread radiation on a disastrous scale.

According to them, any terrorist attack, equipment failure, earthquake or a tsunami could lead to a large-scale radioactive release.

They said that due to international sanctions on Pakistan, components needed from France and Germany could not be sold to Islamabad directly. So China will first have to replicate these and then test them in reactors in Pakistan.

The experts say that most reactors need to be run for a considerable period of time before being used for power generation and the proposed ACP-1000 model is yet to be built and tested.

Hakim Bey: Don't just survive while waiting for someone's revolution to clear your head
Napoleon Bonaparte: The world suffers a lot, not because of the violence of bad people, but because of the silence of good people!

ISLAMABAD: The government declared on Thursday that the two nuclear power plants being built in Karachi were completely safe.

However, certain remarks by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Sheikh Aftab Ahmad in response to a call attention notice of PPP’s Saeed Ghani caused peals of laughter in the house, indicating that the minister had no knowledge at all of the issue.

“God forbid, if any explosion takes place in the (nuclear) plant, it will not cause damage beyond the radius of five to seven kilometres,” he said amid loud laughter both in the hall and the galleries.

“Do you know the effects of radiation? Do you want to say that the plants are safe,” Chairman Nayyar Bokhari interrupted, thus providing a chance to the minister to bring the situation under control.

Sheikh Aftab’s simple reply that “man can only try” in response to Mr Ghani’s query about the plan to evacuate such a large population in case of an emergency also caused laughter.

At one point, the minister said the Chinese experts had carried out thorough study before launching the project and they had said that “Insha Allah, there will be no damage from this project”.

The minister then went on to say that there were many ordnance factories working in Havelian and other places in the country and the population around them was completely safe.

PPP’s Farhatullah Babar criticised the minister’s statement that the effects of the nuclear explosion would only be felt within a 7km radius and even asked him to withdraw it, adding that “by making such a thoughtless statement the minister had only sown the seeds of doubt in the minds of people and done a great disservice to the nation’s nuclear programme”.

Leader of the House Raja Zafarul Haq came to the rescue of the minister when PPP’s Raza Rabbani said the minister did not even know the difference between a nuclear plant and an arms factory.

Mr Haq assured the house that the government would take every step possible for the safety of the people of Karachi and other areas around nuclear plants.

Hakim Bey: Don't just survive while waiting for someone's revolution to clear your head
Napoleon Bonaparte: The world suffers a lot, not because of the violence of bad people, but because of the silence of good people!

^ That is infuriating. Now I'm 100% sure that some kind of kickbacks were involved in the deal. And ofcourse the PML-N doesn't care. To them Karachi is filled with all those people who aren't "sons of the soil". So what if Karachi is vaporized...

Kahuta was also an untested design, so what happened to Islamabad? Sharif wasn't born out of radiation I'm pretty sure.

Chinese upgraded Kanupp after her end of life, those upgrades too were untested.

I doubt the Chinese will use us as lab rats, or the army wants to see the financial capital vapourized either.

Hakim Bey: Don't just survive while waiting for someone's revolution to clear your head
Napoleon Bonaparte: The world suffers a lot, not because of the violence of bad people, but because of the silence of good people!

Fukushima was almost fault free, the best design, they even built it using earthquake proof materials; just didn't take a Tsunami into account.

With the power gone and the standby generators flooded/sunk, the water pumps were rendered useless - it was another Titanic.

Kahuta and Chernobyl have similarities, including negligent reserve water supply.

Hakim Bey: Don't just survive while waiting for someone's revolution to clear your head
Napoleon Bonaparte: The world suffers a lot, not because of the violence of bad people, but because of the silence of good people!

KARACHI: Construction activities are in full swing near the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (Kanupp) in the Paradise Point area, where the government has planned to build two more nuclear power plants (K-2 and K-3), a visit to the site showed.

The present development work, according to sources, is meant to set up physical infrastructure for the support staff while construction for the nuclear plants (with a capacity of 2,200 megawatts power generation) would be initiated at a later stage.

The entire area, spread over 585 acres, is under heavy security. A number of additional checkpoints have emerged in the area dotted by signboards informing the people that photography is prohibited at the ‘construction site’.

From the kind of security arrangements in place at the site, which are likely to get stricter in the coming months, one could easily assume that Karachiites would lose, besides suffering the adverse impact of the multi-billion project, a popular picnic spot — Paradise Point.

“They haven’t yet asked us to vacate the place, but they may do so anytime. Then we’ll have to leave. You are finding all other cabins empty because it’s still a bit cold. People prefer to come here in the summer,” said a vendor sitting in his small make-shift shop near the beach.

Though the project has attracted a lot of concerns from experts over nuclear safety, locals hope that it would help alleviate their financial troubles.

“There is no business left for small boat owners. The rampant use of illegal nets, operation of big mechanical boats, rising inflation and the absence of a jetty here have made our families to live from hand to mouth,” said Ahmed Baloch, a local social activist of nearby Abdur Rehman village, adding that the officials of the nuclear power plants had promised to provide jobs to their unemployed youth.

“Plans to generate electricity are good. It might help improve living conditions of our village facing acute shortages of water and electricity. There is no government-run hospital in our union council and we have to go to the city in case of a serious illness,” he said.

Thousands of people live in the villages surrounding the power plants estimated to cost between nine to 10 billion dollars while all of Karachi falls within 40 kilometres of the nuclear site, one of experts’ serious concerns.

‘A bad decision’

The fast pace of the development at the site could be taken as an indicator that the government is not bothered by concerns being raised by experts who have repeatedly demanded that a proper EIA (Environment Impact Assessment) of the project followed by a public hearing representing all stakeholders is carried out. “I still say that the site evaluation report of the project is highly flawed as it uses old population data (10 million) of Karachi, which, in fact, has 20m people now. It grossly underestimates the area’s vulnerability to earthquakes. Though the reactors’ safety report has arrived, the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission is yet to share it with the public,” said Dr Abdul Hameed Nayyar, an eminent physicist with interest in nuclear issues.

The project, he said, also lacked an evacuation plan that could tell how millions of people would be saved in case of a disaster, he added.

Sharing his views, technical adviser of the World Wide Fund for Nature Mohammad Moazzam Khan said that while pursuing energy solutions, the government must not ignore environmental concerns.

“Most power plants utilise huge quantities of water and dump their thermal effluents into the sea. Effects of thermal effluents on marine animals are usually catastrophic as most animals die. All plant and animal species in the marine water, which is pumped into the nuclear facility, also die,” he said.

The old nuclear power plant of Karachi, he said, used about 0.5 million gallons of water per minute.

Citing a research authored by him and former director of the National Institute of Oceanography Syed Hussain Niaz Rizvi in 1980, he said the paper indicated mass mortality of a large number of fish species due to the nuclear power plant’s operation.

The Karachi coast west of the Hawkesbay, he said, was mainly rocky, or rocky-cum-sandy in nature, which, he said, was considered highly rich in marine biodiversity.

“Many endemic species of fishes and invertebrates are known to occur in the area. The impact of power plants and their effluents on the marine biodiversity cannot even be imagined because of the extent of damage to such an environment,” he argued.

The present location for nuclear power plants, he said, was also not suitable because for about seven months wind blew in the south-west direction and in case of a disaster the whole population of Karachi would be affected.

“The location of the plants along the coast needs a detailed study so the impact could be minimised. The present location between the Hawkesbay and Mubarak Goth is not at all desirable,” he said.

Hakim Bey: Don't just survive while waiting for someone's revolution to clear your head
Napoleon Bonaparte: The world suffers a lot, not because of the violence of bad people, but because of the silence of good people!